As the months have gone by, I’ve become more and more committed to the work I’m doing on this blog, and developing these ideas and relationships. It started as just a blog for ideas in October, and now has been my portal to the world for sharing my passion with others. Ideally, I would like to continue to do this as my career or life work. As the months have ticked by and graduation is visible on the horizon (December, woo!), I’ve begun to feel an apprehension about what’s next. I don’t want to have to “get a job” – (i.e. do work other people want me to do) – but instead continue to follow my passion and figure out a way to have a sustainable income while doing it. I’d like to think that what I do here – discussing the evolution of technology, communication, social dynamics, culture, business, and consciousness itself – is a valuable and worthy pursuit. From the constant positive feedback I receive here, it seems others would agree. So, based on these observations, and some helpful suggestions from people who advise and guide me, I have a proposal for a business model that I think could work for many of us who are committed to advancing humanity for a globally cooperative, collaborative society. Continue reading →

We’ve been having a robust discussion around the idea of social capital over the past few days, and as the thread now contains over 100 great, thorough comments, I just want to create the opportunity to keep the thoughts flowing. For anyone just jumping in, if you’d like to get the background context, grab a coffee and read through Social Capital is not the same as Whuffie. If you’re short on time, here’s a brief summary:

Social capital is a term to describe the embedded value within a network. Some can be misled to assume it has a direct exchange-value because of our current association with what “capital” means. In fact, it cannot be the property of a single individual, but rather the property of a network, a commons, or a community – however you’d like to think of it. So what is it? Think of it as the foundation upon which a healthy, collaborative society is built. It’s comprised of trust, connectedness, interdependence, reciprocity, and social norms. (For instance, If you think of the current lack of trust society has in our financial institutions, you’ll see the correlation with the stability of our economic system.) Individuals contribute to the strength and depth of a society’s social capital through their actions and behaviors, but cannot individually possess it.

So if we hit the reset button, wipe away our assumptions, and think about a truly new economy – what is the mechanism for us to exchange value? Continue reading →